One Last Time
by fandomnerd12
Summary: Chihiro has waited eight years for Haku and lost faith in him. She pushed the Spirit World and most importantly, Haku out of her mind. Eventually, she started opening up and becoming more social. On a nice summer day, a new student was enrolled. Ishikawa Kohaku. Meanwhile, in the Spirit World, a virus has been spreading and Haku caught it. He requests to see Chihiro one last time.
1. Chapter 1

** A/N:** _Annyeonghaseyo_ ("Hello" in Korean)! I'm back! Miss me? Probably not. It's summer again so I'll be active and writing. If you do not know me, hi! By the way guys, I'm working on TWO Spirited Away fanfictions this summer so check out the other one if you'd like (: I'm so happy to be writing for you guys again!よろしくおねがいします(Yoroshiku onegaishimasu which means "Please take care of me" or "Nice to meet you" roughly).

Oh and I will be using Japanese phrases so you can get a feel of being in a Japanese-speaking environment and to also learn a bit for fun? Why not? You learn better when you're having fun (: Some phrases you can tell from context so I probably won't bother to translate unless you ask.

**Disclaimer:** I sadly do not own Spirited Away ):

**Chapter 1**

_"…I'll take the silent treatment off your hands unbeaten_

_I'll take the easy sequence_

_Less people, more freedom…"_

_Silent Treatment by The Joy Formidable_

**Third POV**

Chihiro has waited eight years for Haku and when she returned to Japan, she made a vow to forget the Spirit World. In her quest to do so, she tore down anything that reminded her of Haku. She ripped apart her drawings, her journal, and went out to buy new paint for her room which was a nice combination of opaque white, teal blue, and emerald-green. She forcefully pushed the Spirit World and most importantly, Haku out of her mind, and buried it deep inside her subconscious.

Eventually, she started opening up and becoming more of a social butterfly. She befriended many people, became more involved, and became popular and well-liked by everyone. Every girl envied her, every guy wanted her by his side. She was beautiful with her curtain of silky brown hair which she started wearing down and in different hairstyles rather than in her usual ponytail. With her beauty, came her intelligence. She was the top student and scored high on every exam. She was very outspoken even if the world was against her, and if she did talk, her voice was filled with warmth. She was a bookworm that was one thing she never changed about herself. It was rare to see her without a book. Many teachers and students were surprised by this sudden change but pleased to see her finally growing out of those myths and fairy tales.

A few months later, on a nice summer day, a new student was enrolled. Chihiro was reading her back window seat. It provided the best light and she was hidden.

"Class president," Ueno-sensei nodded towards Watanabe Fuyumi.

"_Kiritsu. Rei._" The class soon followed and bowed along with Fuyumi and Ueno-sensei, greeting each other good morning.

"_Hai, suwatte kudasai._" the students fell back into their seats and Chihiro resumed her reading. "Today we have a new student. Please come in."

Chihiro was still engrossed in the words to bother looking up until the new student spoke.

"_Hajimemashite! Ishikawa desu._ I'm from the countryside transferred because of my father's promotion. _Douzo yoroshiku._"

Chihiro studied him with her gray eyes. Black hair with tints of green and unforgettable emerald eyes. Could this be? No it couldn't. She dismissed the thought. She surveyed the room and she saw that every female student could not take their eyes off him and every male student was scoffing about how they were better. She ignored them and picked up from where she left off. Her heart was beating a bit fast for her to concentrate and her mind was full of questions that desperately needed answers.

"You can sit next to Ogino-san. Please stand up so that our new student knows who you are." Ueno-sensei's voice pierced Chihiro's worries. A fluster Chihiro stood up abruptly. "You may go to your seat now, Ishikawa-san."

His innocent, pure eyes smiled at Chihiro. He quietly settled into his new seat while Chihiro sneaked a quick glance. It couldn't be. No. It can't. If he was able to, he would have done so sooner. Chihiro's mind was now troubled. A rarity. Since she had forcefully made herself forget about the Spirit World, she never cared much about anything which led to no troubles. She was an extremely laid-back person.

**\(^.^)/**

For the rest of the morning Chihiro was so distracted by the new student. She wanted answers to her questions. When the little chime went off for lunch she immediately turned to face him, but he was already facing her.

"Hello. My name is Ishikawa Kohaku. Nice to meet you." Holy crud. It is him. Chihiro almost teared up from joy. Then angered follow.

"I know that. I was paying attention." She snapped at him.

"You've been reading that book the entire time but you haven't flipped the page since I came." He replied warmly. Chihiro blushed at his observation. Has he been watching her?

"Well I really like these quotes. Very inspirational. Can't stop going over them," she poorly used as an excuse.

"Ah I see. Well I'm going to get lunch. Do you have your own or would you like to come down and grab lunch with me?"

"No thanks I have my own," she politely declined. Okay. She didn't but she wasn't going anywhere with him.

"Oh well then would you like to meet me downstairs?"

"Uh— "

"CHIHIROOOOOOO!" Her friend interrupted her mid-rejection. "Let's get lunch together!"

"Oh I have my own today, Fuyumi."

"Wait. You actually got up early enough to make your own today? Is this the Ogino Chihiro I know? Are you sure you're Chihiro today?"

"Yes. Just go with Ishikawa-san. He was going down to but you can help him out." Chihiro gestured at Ishikawa and Fuyumi was more than happy. The blush on her face said everything.

"Hello! I'm Watanabe. Let's go." She linked arms with him and they exited the classroom before Haku could reject. Chihiro let out a sigh of relief. She quickly pulled out her phone.

"Fuyumi, it's Chihiro. Ditch him. And I actually don't have a lunch so do you mind getting me some _udon_? I'll pay you back."

"_Doooooooushite?_ He's hot!"

"Please? For me?"

"I sense some sort of past between you two." She let out a depleted sigh. "You better tell me the whole story when I get back."

"Thank you. You're the best!"

"Yea I know. See you later." They both hung up simultaneously. Chihiro released a tired sigh. This was too much for her mind to compute.

How? Why now, too? Just when I finally pushed it all out it hits me all over again. Chihiro needed to talk to him. She didn't really want to yet she really wanted to.

**\(^.^)/**

"Watanabe-san?" Haku looked around and did not see Chihiro's friend in sight. He didn't mind. He saw Chihiro and even talked to her. He was already happy. Why she wasn't was the real question. He hurried down to the cafeteria and got his lunch. On his way back he spotted Masako carrying two lunch bowls.

"Ah Watanabe-san. _Daijobu desu ka_?" Masako found it strange he didn't whine about ditching him or even question it.

"_Daijobu desu!_ Where are you going?" She flashed him an innocent smile to reassure him.

"Back to the classroom. At least let me help you." He effortlessly took one of the bowl and held one bowl in each of his hands.

"Doesn't it hurt? Are you sure it's stable?"

"Yes. I'm fine. I've carried a lot heavier and a lot more with just my hands." Fuyumi was amazed and blushing a bit that he offered to help. He was strong, adorable, and so kind. He was real. She had no idea what peeved Chihiro off about him since there was obviously nothing.

They both reached the classroom to find Chihiro at her desk reading. No surprise. Fuyumi came over and set down Chihiro's lunch for her and Chihiro gave her the money without looking up.

"Hello Chihiro. Where did you lunch go?" Haku sounded a little hurt that she lied.

"Ah don't bother her. She's reading so she's stuck in her own little world."

"Oh I see."

Chihiro put her bookmark back into her book, closed her book, and put it back into her bag. She then started to walk away with her _udon_ in hand. She glanced back slightly, her eyes silently telling Fuyumi to follow.

"Guess we're going outside. _Jaa ne_ Ishikawa-san!" Haku handed back her bowl and she bowed to show her thanks. Fuyumi followed Chihiro out of the classroom as Haku's green eyes followed them. He really wanted to talk to her. He stared down at his lunch with disgust.

"Human food is so unsavory." He muttered to himself.

**\(^.^)/**

"Chihiro, where are we going?" Chihiro did not answer. "Uhm…Chihiro?" No reply. Just silent walking. Fuyumi did not speak again until they arrived at their destination.

Chihiro settled herself in the corner. They were up on the roof.

"Ah. I can finally breathe again." A tear rolled down her face. Fuyumi quickly ran over to her friend. She had never witnessed Chihiro crying before. She had always put up a strong face.

"Chi...what's wrong?"

"You want the story? Here's the story. We were both young, or at least I was. I believed in him for so long but I knew he'd never come back. Why would he show up now? If he could have, why didn't he sooner? I've waited so long in heartache and regret."

"Were you guys friends or something? Before you moved here? Chihiro, you guys were young. It's not like he could have driven a car over here."

"He lives around here. Well not in the town, but in the outskirts sort of."

"Well then he's a jerk. Who wouldn't come and visit you?"

Chihiro thought she sounded a little selfish, honestly. How could she expect him to cross over that easily? He couldn't even pass the border. How did he pass the border? She had all these questions but no answer…yet.

"Yea." She started slurping up the _udon_ noodles in silence. Fuyumi began digging into her _omuraisu_.

"You know, we need some guys for the club this year since most of the _senpai_ have graduated. I think Ishikawa-san would be perfect."

"We're not that desperate for male members," Chihiro chuckled a bit. They disposed of their empty bowls downstairs and hurried back down to class.

As Chihiro entered the classroom she saw a horde of girls crowding her desk and Haku's. She had to admit, she was jealous. She picked up a few of random textbooks and notebooks and slammed them down on the desk in front of hers. The sudden noise disrupted the girls.

"Sorry. Just wanted my seat back." She blinked her eyes innocently.

"Ah. Thank you Chihiro. That was suffocating."

"I just wanted them out of my seat," she muttered.

"May we talk after school? We can catch up." Chihiro bit her lip and hesitantly nodded her head. "Great."

Chihiro had a lot to say. Question was, did she have the courage to share them?

**Translations:**

_"Kiritsu. Rei"_= Stand. Bow. A general classroom greeting (and how the end class at the end of the day)

_"Hai. Suwatte kudasai."_= Alright. Now please be seated.

_"Hajimemashite….douzo yoroshiku."_ = A basic self-introduction in Japanese

_"Doushite"_ = Why

_Udon_ = noodles

_Omuraisu_ = Omelette (Omelet USA Version) rice

_"Daijobu desu ka."_ = Are you alright?

_"Jaa ne"_ = See you later

**A/N:** So what do you think? There's going to be more, don't worry. Haku's story is coming up next and their little talk. I will have that up by tomorrow. Not like I have anything to do over the summer.

**Review please~**

**~fandomnerd12 **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I renamed her Masako, Fuyumi because I wanted to name her after a close friend of mine. Well part of her name.

**Disclaimer: **I don't think I'll ever own _Spirited Away _in this lifetime.

**Chapter 2**

_"__The sad longing builds up  
It feels like my breath will stop  
I follow the faint light  
And now I go to you_

_Love comes like snowflakes  
I hold out my hand to catch it but it always melts  
From the moment I first saw you, it was always you  
I take one step and again another step  
Because to me, it needs to be only you."_

"Love is like a Snowflake" – Junsu (_Nice Guy _OST)

**Third POV**

Haku knew he could not tell Chihiro why he came over. It wasn't hard to think of a lie. What was the real test, was the fact that he had to lie to her face. He thought back to his last months in the Spirit World.

_"__Hello Haku. I believe you know why I called you up here." Yubaba calmly greeted him. _

_"__I am no longer your little puppet Yubaba. No more dirty work. I'm going back downstairs. And my name is Kohaku for _kami's _sake." Haku turned away, a little irritated. _

_"__Okay then. _Kohaku," _Yubaba cleared her throat. Yubaba mellowed an astonishing amount since Chihiro arrived, but she was still very protective of her gold. "There is an epidemic spreading. Fast. All the major gods are trying to contain it and quarantine it, but it is not controlling the problem at all. They're a bunch of numbskulls honestly. They should simply uproot the source. Or cure the source if possible. They have sent and posted flyers of the list of symptoms." Yubaba handed him the yellow sheet. _

_It read: _

_"__As you all know," _'…all know? Obviously not,' _Haku thought. "There is an epidemic spreading. We are not sure of the source and have sent out an enormous number of professional doctors and nurses. As long as you do not go venturing into unclean spaces, or around the patients, you will be safe. We encourage wealthy families and businesses to take in some unfortunate spirits who are not equipped to defend themselves. Please send a spirit displaying _any_ of these symptoms to a doctor __immediately__: _

· _High fever. Remember, different types of spirits, different average temperatures_

· _Shallow breathing_

· _Light-headed_

· _Extreme sweating in certain places_

· _Talking to themselves or acting a bit strange. Not acting like themselves_

· _Random bloody noses. _

_We urge you to immediately report this to your doctor so they may run some tests. It _is _contagious! Many of our brothers and sisters have already perished due to this plague, so save the remaining brothers and sisters we have left in order to vanquish this infection. Thank you. _

_The High Gods and Lady Amaterasu"_

_Haku scanned the paper and he could not believe it. Spirits were….dying?! Yes, spirits died but that required power or their land, or whatever they're bonded to, destroyed. It was hard to believe. _

_"__So Kohaku, I urge you to warn the others, and also close off a part of the bathhouse. It will be the area for sick/unfortunate spirits and doctors and nurses to work." _

_Haku was suspicious. What were her motives? "What do you get out of this? How will it benefit _you_?" _

_"__If the situation gets too out of hand and it becomes even more contagious, and it's too late, we'll _all _die." _

_Haku was in shock. It just didn't register. It didn't seem like a natural cause. Something changed in the environment or either, a spirit actually decided to create such a powerful concoction to wipe us all out. But why? It hurt his head to think too much of it. _

_"__Alright. I will warn the workers. Thank you, Yubaba for informing me." He bowed respectfully and left to alert the workers of the upcoming evil. _

_Two months after, the bathhouse was part-time hospital. Ruefully, Haku is like any other spirit. He, too, eventually caught the plague. All of the bathhouse employees, including Yubaba, Boh, even Zeniba and Kaonashi (No-face), were stunned. They were left speechless when they were informed that their great, and beloved Kohaku-sama, was ill. No one could believe it, not even he. He was furious at himself! He would not succumb to death before seeing Chihiro one last time. He would not allow it. _

_Lady Amaterasu was visiting every infected spirit, trying to offer words of advice and to be a beacon of hope. If they were close to the brink of death, much like Haku, she granted their last wishes, if it was reasonable and within her power to. _

_When she arrived to Haku, he simply blurted it out. He knew death was on the horizon and it could not wait any longer. "I'm very sorry to ask this of you, but please send me to the Human World, Lady Amaterasu!" _

_"__Dear boy, calm yourself. Now why would you like to visit the Human World?"_

_"__Well, someone very special to me is there and I would like to see her before I…meet my end." Her eyes were not judging him, but sort of pitying him yet encouraging. _

_"__I can grant you your wish. Although, are you sure you can even get up? Your body might not be well enough to adapt to the Human World. Would it not hurt this special human to see you like this?" The Lady was right. Haku could barely breathe without an air spirit's help. He passes out daily from fatigue. Although, he could not give up. He must see Chihiro. He must keep his promise. _

_"__Lady Amaterasu, no matter what, I must see her. I do not want her to see me like this, but I want her to at least know I kept my promise and she has never been forgotten, and never will be." Lady Amaterasu just fell in love with his words and devotion to this human. _

_"__May I inquire, what is so special about her?" _

_Haku did not know where to begin. Her thoughtful gray eyes? Her courage and independence? How painfully kind she was to everyone and spirits. _

_"__She is a remarkable being in all the worlds. No one can have as much courage or independence as her. She was forced to grow up and adapt under some very strange, unusual, and tough circumstances. You see, she and her parents accidentally stumbled upon the Spirit World and Yubaba turned her parents into pigs. She was able to get a job here, but wreaked some havoc. Of course she fixed it all. She was unbelievably kind to everyone. Oh yes, and she freed me. She returned my name to me. Also she broke the protective spell on the golden seal and squashed the slug that was controlling me. That isn't much, but what she did was unbelievable! I just want to make her happy in my last moments so she doesn't have a bitter memory of me." _

_Amaterasu looked at him pitifully. Fate were playing the two. Despite her mortality, he was the one who would die first._

_"__I will grant you your request. Although, if your condition begins to worsen drastically, you will be sent back here immediately. You must take care of yourself. Losing each one of you is like losing a child." _

_Haku felt a bit guilty now. Most spirits did not have parents nor did they really have children. Spirits were created when a new tree grew, a new flower bloomed, or a human believed strong enough for one to be born. Like gods of war and poverty and such. _

_"__You may leave in the morning, but for now rest. Have your friends pack a sack for you. I wish you luck, my child." She handed him a bracelet. She then moved onto the next bed. _

_Haku could not wait to see Chihiro. Rin packed him enough medicine to last a few decades. They did not have the best relationship but they did care for each other at a certain level. _

_"__Be careful dragon boy. You better come back alive or I'm dragging both you and Sen back to the Spirit World. I can't imagine Sen's face and heart if you died in front of her!" _

_Rin continued to babble on but the image of Chihiro crying as he was dying was playing in his mind. It would be a horrible nightmare that neither of them would be able to wake up from. Rin embraced him crying in her incoherent babble. Haku wrapped his arms around her. "I'll miss you, too Rin. Take care." He wiggled his way out of her hug. _

_It was daytime so many of the spirits were asleep. They ran on a nocturnal schedule mainly._

_"__Use this, it will allow you to cross the border into the Human World. It will also be monitoring your health which reports back to us. If your health decreases too drastically, you will be transported back here and everyone you ever had contact with would have forgotten about you." Lady Amaterasu's voice echoed at the back of his mind. _

_He ran for the border, then through the tunnel, and did not look back until he was on the other side. _

**\(^.^)/**

The time came for him to talk to Chihiro once the bell rang to dismiss them. Chihiro grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Did she perhaps forget? She waited by the doorway and looked over in his direction impatiently. He picked up his stuff and headed out the door with Chihiro. They traded their _uwabaki _(indoor shoes)for their _kutsu _(regular outdoor shoes) and headed out the school gate towards the hill. Fuyumi trailed close behind, but out of earshot giving them space.

"So why did you finally come? It's been nearly eight years. I gave up on you. If you could have arrived sooner that would have been preferred."

"Chihiro…I'm really sorry for hurting you and making you wait so long. It is not easy to come here. I had to ask Lady Amaterasu herself. Do you realize how long it takes to _just_ get an appointment with her?" He did it. He lied, sort of, to Chihiro. He felt horrible.

"I'm really sorry for blaming you for something that was out of your control. At least you haven't forgotten me, so that's good. Forgive me for being so rude." She hugged him tightly, but not as tight as Rin did. "Don't ever leave me again. I don't think I could handle it." It broke his heart to hear that.

"Don't you have even a smidgen of faith in me?" Haku joked. "Don't worry. I will never leave you again." He hugged her back softly, afraid that if he hugged her too tightly, she'd break and he'd be snapped out of this beautiful dream. They were both blushing at this point.

"Awwwww. You two reconciled? That fast?" Fuyumi jumped in ruining the nice reunion. She rested her elbow on Chihiro's shoulder coming in between their hug.

"Uh yeah. Sort of. I mean, he did come back in the end didn't he?"

"Alright, let's go back to the house Chihiro. I'm starving."

"We both can't cook, Fuyumi."

"Well I wasn't talking to you, Chihiro. What about you Ishikawa-san?"

"Well at my former place of employment, I helped out in the kitchen."

"Great! You can make us food from now on. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, the thing in between lunch and dinner, dinner, dessert, the after dessert, and midnight snack! Chi, can he stay with us? Don't we have like a guest room?"

Chihiro turned towards Haku. "I'm going to assume you don't have anywhere to stay so why don't you stay with us?"

"I hope I wouldn't be a bother."

"Of course not." Chihiro took his hand in hers and beamed at him reassuringly.

**\(^.^)/**

"Make yourself at home."

Chihiro headed upstairs while Fuyumi plopped down on the couch and covered her head with a pillow. Haku sat down on the chair adjacent to the couch. He kept his hands to himself not sure what to do. He surveyed the room. There were many bizarre things. There was a black, rectangular, thin, glass thing (the TV) and a shelf with many awards. He approached the shelf and read off the awards.

"1st place: Chihiro Ogino," and there was a scroll and quill implying she won something for writing. There were many of those and a few art ones. Haku picked up a picture of Chihiro and Fuyumi all dressed up with bouquets. It looked pretty recent. Chihiro was glowing as usual and Fuyumi looked really nice.

"There was an arts festival that day." Haku spun around and saw Chihiro leaning against the wall. "I displayed some of my art pieces and she performed a solo during the concert. We knew both of our families would be too busy to show up so we got each other a bouquet and went out for some Vietnamese food afterwards. She's basically my sister."

"You both look cheerful." He placed down the picture frame where he found it.

"The guestroom is livable now so you can put your stuff down. Second door on your left. It's next to the bathroom. I'm going to wake up Fuyumi."

Haku silently went up the stairs and went straight into the guestroom. Although he paused to see what were those two red sigils on the two doors across from his. He made a mental note to ask Chihiro later.

The room was decently sized with a queen sized bed. There was a walk-in closet, a wooden desk with a smaller version of what he saw downstairs (a computer), and a trashcan. The walls were a nice shade of blue and so were some of the furniture. It reminded him of water which was nice and it relaxed him. He was a river spirit after all. He laid down on the bed succumbing to his exhaustion.

**\(^.^)/**

When Haku woke up from his nice, refreshing nap he looked out the window and saw many hours had gone by. The sky had darkened. He had no idea how late it was so he ran downstairs to the living room to look for Chihiro. With his enhanced sight, he could see well in the dark. There was no sign of them. He looked up at the digital clock hanging on the wall. It read 11 PM.

He went exploring into the next room and found the kitchen. There was a note attached to a bag.

_Dear Haku, _

_We did not wish to disturb you so we went out for Thai food. We brought you back beef pad see ew. _

_Chihiro (: _

He peered inside the bag and found a to-go box with a plastic trident-thingy (a fork) inside. He picked up the plastic trident confused. He could smell beef from inside the contents of the to-go box. He opened the container to find food! He had nothing to eat it with considering he had no _hashi_. A light-bulb went off in his brain.

_'__The plastic trident must be a utensil to pick up the food!' _Haku mentally applauded himself. Haku stabbed the fork into the noodles then pulled it up. He cautiously took a bite unsure if it was delectable. The food finally made it into his mouth and he gulped it down.

He could not believe it. It was the best thing he ever had! It was savory and nicely cooked! Well it was the best human food he's had so far. Spirit World food was still better. He continued spearing his food as he headed back upstairs to his room.

"I'm going to kill you!" He heard through one of the doors. Haku bolted inside immediately.

**Translations: **

_Kami: _It means "god" in Japanese.

_Amaterasu_: She is a major deity in Japanese Shintoism. She is the goddess of the sun (_nihon/nippon _which means Japan in Japanese, the _kanji _literally means, "base of the sun") and universe.

_Hashi: _Chopsticks

**kathy—Here's your update! Thank you for the compliment! I hope you enjoyed this chapter (:**

**A/N: **The italics messed up my sight a bit. I'm never doing that again for the majority of a chapter. Sorry if it messed yours up, too. Oh and don't worry. It's not really a cliffhanger. Leave me your thoughts. Thank you for reading! Thank you to all those who reviewed, followed, and pressed favorite!

**Review please~**

**~fandomnerd12**

**Guys. Are we not going to talk about ****_Legend of Korra_**** Book 3 trailer? Seriously. There is hope and promise in this one, well more so than the others. **


	3. Chapter 3 ばか바보

**Disclaimer: I will never be able to own ****_Spirited Away_****. **

**Chapter 3: Idiot ****ばか바보**

_"__You held my small hand and protected me,  
always smiling only at me  
Baby, we didn't know back then,  
we were probably pretending  
we were too young_

_You came to me, into my heart,  
as something more than a friend  
Next to you, I hid my heart,  
hiding, hiding  
behind the friend label."_

"So Long" – Apink

"What the—Chihiro! Tell your boyfriend to get some manners first!" Haku couldn't believe it. They were just playing cards!

"But I heard that someone was going to murder someone!" He was still frantic and his heart was still racing.

"Well she made me pick up the pile!" Chihiro pointed accusingly at Fuyumi.

"Hey, you know how I play. Should have put better cards on your field."

"So no one is trying to murder anyone?" Haku let out a sigh of relief. The room was a dark shade of purple and the blinds were closed. There were posters of many things he did not recognize in a language he did not know.

Fuyumi scoffed. "Of course not." Then she winked at Chihiro.

Chihiro let out a tired sigh. "Haku, would you like to learn how to play your first card game?"

Haku visibly relaxed. "Okay. So what is it called? Is it like _hanafuda _or _karuta_?"

"Ishikawa-san, are you from this era?"

"Haku's just from a very remote place where things are still pretty traditional."

"Ohhh… So he's like Amish **(I am not discriminating or saying anything bad about the Amish at all)**."

"Whatever, just hop onto the bed. You can sit next to me. You can watch Fuyumi kick my butt." Chihiro scooted to her right a bit to make room for Haku.

"Why would Fuyumi kick your behind?"

"I meant it as a metaphor because she's winning."

As he watched Fuyumi do her little victory dance and Chihiro shuffle the cards, he couldn't help but stare at her. She was in her butterfly pajamas and looked a lot more like ten. She no longer looked like the little girl he met nearly eight years ago. She had grown up to become a beautiful lady. She still wore the hair tie in her slick brown hair and her gray eyes were full of wisdom and light. She lost her baby fat and had really nice cheekbones. Her olive-skin still remained smooth. Her voice was melodious and he missed it so.

"Wait. Fuyumi may I use your post-its and a sharpie?"

"For what?"

"So I can label them for Haku. He can't read any of these cards so I'll have to label them in _kanji _and _katakana_. Come on, it's not like we don't use _kanji_." Fuyumi grumbled then handed Chihiro a black sharpie and 52 (for those who do not know, there are 52 cards in a deck) green post-its. She stuck the post-its on top of each card and a little shape was drawn on them, too. Haku stuck his plastic trident into his food and pulled it back up.

"Uh Chihiro, does Ishikawa-san know how to use a fork?"

Chihiro looked up from labelling and saw what Haku was doing. She couldn't help but laugh at how adorable it was. He seemed to put a lot of concentration in trying to get the food.

"Haku, it's like this," she showed him how to use a fork. He felt like an idiot.

"Of course!" He face-palmed himself.

"It's alright. It was pretty funny though."

"That was weird. Do you only use chopsticks?"

"Yes, until now." Haku replied calmly.

"Well I'm going to explain the game to him now." Chihiro turned to face Haku. "Three is like the number of this game. We have three cards facing down, three cards up on top that we can switch out at any time, and three cards in our hand. There are four special cards but if we come across them I'll explain them. So four is the lowest card and suit doesn't matter in this game. Let's play with our hands out in the open, Fuyumi."

"Ugh fine."

As Fuyumi placed her hand on the bed Chihiro had to stifle a giggle. "Your cards suck, Fuyumi."

Fuyumi's three cards were a four of diamonds, five of clovers, and six of hearts. She traded them with two of her three cards that were facing up and on top of the cards that were face down. Her hand now consisted of a seven of hearts, three of spades, and the four of diamonds. Fuyumi proceeded to play the four of diamonds and threw it in the center of the bed. She picked up a card from a pile facing down and her new card was a jack of spades.

Haku saw their hand consisted of a four of spades, jack of diamonds, and ace of hearts.

"Despite this game having no rules about suits, the shapes I drew on the post-its, just to start off, we actually use them. So the order of suits from lowest to highest, well how most people see it, is diamonds, clubs or clovers, hearts, then spades. Since she had the lower four she went first. Now it's our turn. The wise move is to get rid of your lowest cards, but leave a few just in case." Chihiro picked up a card from the pile facing down which reveals to be a ten of clubs. "Oh and don't forget to draw each time after you play."

After a few more plays from each player Haku caught on. A three was like a pass card and the next player had to beat what was played before the three. Chihiro said it was her least favorite since it was a "double-edged card." A two was like a "block" card so you can play a card of your own. If a seven was played, you had to play any card under seven which means either a six, five, or four, or any of the special cards. A ten just burned the whole pile and allowed everyone a fresh start. And ace was the most powerful of the non-special cards.

Since the beginning of the game the pile had grew and Chihiro just played an ace of diamonds. She saw the Fuyumi only had an eight of clubs, queen of hearts, and king of spades. "Dang it. I hate you Chihiro."

"I hate you too Fuyumi, now play. I think we played like all the fours so just find them."

Fuyumi grabbed the whole pile and there had to be about 46 cards in there. Fuyumi played four fours then Chihiro played her queen of diamonds. "The poorest of them all. Jacob just had to neglect this one." Chihiro shook her head in a disappointing manner. Fuyumi bursted out laughing. Haku was felt like a lost puppy.

"Well we can always visit them during winter break when we go back to California."

"I'm sorry, but who's this Jacob?"

"While Chihiro and I were living in America still, we were in the Japanese Culture Club and it was awesome. Jacob was the co-president. We loved to mess with him." Fuyumi answered.

"I see."

In the end, Chihiro and Haku won and Fuyumi was left with about ten cards still in her hand.

"Ready to play on your own?" Chihiro turned to Haku.

"I'm pretty confident."

"Alright then. Every man/lady for himself."

Fuyumi shuffled the cards and set up for the next round.

**\(^.^)/**

"_Baka ja nai! _(I'm not an idiot!)" Haku declared as he played his final card. He was so close to losing with about twenty cards left in his hand but slowly made his way to the top. "Ha Chihiro! I win!"

Haku won for the first time. He was so happy. He had no idea how fun it was in the Human World and wished he'd been infected sooner just to spend more time with Chihiro. No, he wish he didn't have to get sick just to see Chihiro. The thought was making him glum and Chihiro noticed.

"Hey, cheer up. You won! You beat Fuyumi and me for the first time."

"Huh, oh sorry. I was just thinking."

After a few more rounds it was about 1:30 AM. Fuyumi decided to call it a night and kicked Chihiro and Haku out of her room.

The two were now alone and Chihiro invited him over to her room. "Well since I'm still super active and you're sort of nocturnal wanna stay up and talk?"

Haku just followed Chihiro into her bedroom. Her bedroom was filled with some posters as well and had a huge red symbol on the hardwood floor. He really needs to ask her what those were. They sat down on her bed and he examined her room. It was a rainbow of colors all over the place, although it still felt organized. He spotted a quote on one of the walls.

"'Once you meet someone, you never really forget them; it just takes a while for your memories to return.' ~ Zeniiba" Haku read the words quietly to himself.

"While I was trying to seek advice from Zeniiba to help you and my parents she told me that. I haven't forgotten it; well maybe it's because it's painted on my wall."

Haku let out a soft chuckle. "Oh I meant to ask earlier but what are those red sigils on both of your doors? And this symbol on your floor?"

"Oh. The angel sigil and devil's trap? It's from this television show that Fuyumi introduced to me. And you don't know what television is." Haku shook his head like an innocent puppy. "Well, it's sort of like a play but with really good quality if you're lucky and you get to watch it from your own house on a screen. I'll show you another time. But that's also what a computer does, too, sort of. I'll teach you this stuff another time."

"How has your life been? Ever since you returned to the Human World?" Haku wanted to catch up on the eight years he missed.

"My parents died when I was 14 then I was shipped over to the States to live with my aunt and uncle. There I met Fuyumi who is half-Japanese and half-Caucasian, so she's a _happa_. Her real name is Fuyumi Black but here she goes by her mother's maiden name. She introduced me to many things which is what you see all over the room. My bookshelf is getting pretty full and my closet is full of t-shirts with many different designs. I'll show you some other time. While I was in the States, I attended a regular public high school and befriended many people. The Japanese Culture Club in particular, although none of them were Japanese, except for the sensei. They were good people. Fuyumi and I left the States with money from her parents since their filthy rich, when we were 16 and are on our way to completing our high school education here.

When I was just about to enter my final year of schooling here, I decided on a fresh start. I became so impatient and angry at you so I ripped and crumpled up all of my drawings and Fuyumi was given the honor to burn my notebook and the drawings. It was a good day that day."

"I'm sorry to hear about your parents."

"It was four years ago, don't worry about it."

"Sorry for making you wait, too. It took me three years just to schedule an appointment and five years to wait for it. I wish I had the power to cross over but I'm not powerful enough. I missed you every day. You were never not on my mind."

Chihiro visibly blushed and turned her head away. "Oh well thanks for, you know, keeping the promise. I thought you only said it to console me or to get me to leave with a false hope that I'd see you again."

"No of course not! Chihiro, you freed me. I don't think I can ever really repay you for that. This is the least I could do. Besides, I would love to see you every day."

"So how long are you here?"

"I don't know." Haku replied in a regretful tone.

"Oh. Then we'll make the best of it!" Chihiro smiled confidently at Haku. Underneath the smile, she felt uneasy. Her gut was telling her that Haku was lying but she pushed it aside. Maybe it was her mind and heart still trying to register that he's actually here. She brushed it off. "So how was your life? Like when you weren't just waiting to see the Lady Amaterasu."

"I helped out around Aburaya. For free and not against my will."

"How is everyone? Even Yubaaba."

"Rin is noisy as usual. Kamajii and the _susuwatari _are hard-working. Boh has grown up, mentally, a bit. Yubaaba is greedy as usual. Although, she has calmed down quite a bit since you left, she even addresses me by my _real _name! Zeniiba is doing fine and so is Kaonashi. They're all very happy."

_'__That is until the infection started spreading and I caught it.' _Haku thought to himself. He gave Chihiro a reassuring smile.

"That's good! It puts me at ease to know they're happy."

"They miss you, too. Rin asks, out loud, everyday how you're doing. What should I tell her when I see her again?"

"I'm faring well. I want to teach, preferably at the high school I attended back in America. I want to teach them Japanese. I'm going to leave with Fuyumi right after we graduate. If you're still here, would you like to come?"

"Yeah. I would very much like that." Haku gazed into Chihiro's delighted gray eyes! He could only return it with a sad, longing regard.

Chihiro furrowed her eyebrows. "What's wrong? Was it something I said?"

"Huh? No. Just thinking."

"Haku…is there something you're not telling me? You know you can trust me." Chihiro looked into his emerald orbs with a pleading look. "Please, let me help you. We're not a world apart anymore. We're right next to each other."

Haku wanted to so desperately tell her but he didn't want to worry her.

_'__They'll find a cure. I know it. Then Chihiro and I could be together forever.' _Haku clung to the hope that a cure will present itself soon. It was foolish, unrealistic, and optimistic of him, but all he could do was hope.

"I was just revisiting the past. Don't worry about it."

Chihiro did not relax. "Is there something in the past that still haunts you?"

"Not anymore. I'm here now, and that's all that matters. As long as I'm by your side, nothing else matters."

Chihiro's heart fluttered a bit. She did indeed have a gigantic crush and longing to be with Haku, but she realistically knew she stood no chance. Haku was a mighty, _immortal _spirit. She was a normal mortal. She was only liked for her brains and "beauty." She always brushed it off as lust from hormonal teenagers. She had been courted many times and confessed to, but for some reason, her heart was never able to return the feelings. Her heart was already taken when she was ten by a river spirit.

"I'm blessed and contented to have someone like you by my side."

"Chihiro." The way he said her name sounded sweet and melodious. Only he could say her name in a way that made her feel special. "I…am tired. You must be fatigued as well. We'll talk more tomorrow. Have a good night and sleep well. Do not worry. I do not plan on going anywhere anytime soon without you."

"Good night. We'll go into the city tomorrow and go looking for clothes for you. I don't think you can continue to just wear the school uniform. Rest well, Haku."

Haku gave her a small nod and smile, and closed her bedroom door. Chihiro turned off the main lights in her room, and plugged in the little lantern lights strung across her room. She turned on her speakers, not too loud to disturb the others, and got back into bed. She stared up at the stars she painted onto the ceiling and exhaled to still her racing heart.

_'__Was he about to confess?' _

She knew she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight with so many thoughts running through her mind.

_'__I can't tell her. I cannot tell her. It'd hurt her even more if I confessed my true feelings.' _Haku went through this for the rest of the night. Needless to say, he did not get much sleep either.

"Ugh. Couples." Fuyumi hid under her pillow and was fast asleep. At least one person had some decent sleep.

**\(^.^)/**

"Well that didn't kill it. Kaonashi, be a dear and hand me the other fungus."

"Ah ah." The No-Face spirit obediently transferred the smelly fungus over to the mad scientist/witch.

"We must work hard. The sooner we find the cure, the better. Oh I hope Kohaku is doing well in the Human World. Do you think he told Chihiro?"

"Ah." Kaonashi shook his head disapprovingly.

"I suppose you're right. It's better for him to not for the moment. I don't want to see my granddaughter cry. But I also do not want him to suffer much more than he already is. She deserves to know."

"Ah!"

"Yes you're right. He has Chihiro by his side again. Oh I pray to the _kami_ that they will overcome this." Zeniiba sighed heavily and returned to her work.

**Translations: **

_Hanafuda:_ Literally translates to "flower cards." It's a flowercard game. The cards can also be used in other card games.

_Karuta:_ A Japanese card game that is now a competitive sport. You can learn more by watching the anime _Chihayafuru_. A bit confusing, but pretty fun once you get the hang of it.

_Kanji:_ Chinese characters adopted into the Japanese language.

_Katakana: _One of the two Japanese alphabets. Now used for foreign words and sound effects in _manga_. Foreign words such as cake is written as _keeki. _

_Happa: _Someone who is half (insert ethnicity) and half (insert ethnicity). Not ¼ of this and ¾. No. Half and half. Like half-Japanese and half _. I'm not sure if people consider someone who's like half Irish and half French _happa_. It's generally used for people who are half-Asian and half something else since _happa _is a Japanese word. But you guys get the idea.

**A/N:** Once in a blue moon I name my chapters. I titled it _Idiot _because the card game is called _Idiot_. I tried my best to explain the game since it's already hard to explain it face-to-face.

So ばかis _baka_ as most anime fans know, it means "idiot." I did not use _kanji_ because I don't wanna scare you guys off, so I used the simple, yet elegant _hiragana _("main" Japanese alphabet).

**바보**is _babo_ and is Korean for "fool" or "idiot." You'll hear this word a lot in KPOP songs, usually to describe how foolish they were to be in love or stuff like that. I learned it from "Driving Me Crazy" by Hyorin for _Master's Sun _OST. You also hear it very clearly in "Singing Got Better" by Ailee.

Did anyone catch the little Slytherin reference I threw in (black sharpie, green post-its)? My friend, the one I named Fuyumi after, is a proud Slytherin. I'm a Hufflepuff. It's cool if you didn't xD And of course, there was a _huge Supernatural _reference in there.

Chihiro's eyes are gray. You can see that they're gray in some scenes of the movie when it's actually detailed, specifically when she returns Haku's name and they're like freefalling or when Haku leads her the way to Kamajii's when he touches her forehead. I just realized it like this year, too when I was rewatching it for the millionth time. And I'm spelling their names weirdly because it's not wrong, but it's the way it is "spelled" in Japanese. That's why some other authors use Rin instead of Lin. Rin is Japanese and Lin is westernized.

**Thank you for reading! Please leave me your thoughts, they encourage me to stop taking naps and write instead. **

**~fandomnerd12 **


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